Structural Problems of African Industry

Abstract

SubSaharan Africa (henceforth, Africa for short) remains one of the least industrialised regions in the world, and the recent experience of much of the modern industry that has been set up has not been a happy one. Industrial production has stagnated or declined in many countries over the past decade. Inefficiencies and external shocks, exacerbated by poor policies, have led many industries to becoming a drag on their economies rather than engines of growth and structural transformation. This is the more worrying because Africa is still predominantly specialised in relatively simple, low technology industries. Its long-term development would entail entry into more complex and demanding activities where technologies are changing rapidly: what, then, are the prospects for its growth?

Keywords

Europe Income Marketing Assure Malaysia

I am grateful for research assistance to Gladson Kayira at the World Bank and Panos Kanavos at Oxford.